minesweeper

As per the December 1929 issue of the journal US Air Services*, this photo features three Loening OL-8A aircraft of the Alaskan Aerial Survey on the government dock at Juneau, Alaska. From left to right they are: The aircraft designated No. "2," BuNo A-8078, named Ketchikan; the aircraft designated No. "4", BuNo A-8076, named Sitka; and the aircraft designated No. "1," BuNo A-8072, named Juneau. The fourth aircraft, designated No. "3," BuNo A-8079, and named Petersburg, took the photo. The Lapwing-class minesweeper USS Gannet (AM-41), also captured in the photo, performed the role of aircraft tender for the survey expedition, and would lift the Loening OL-8A's and place them upon the dock after the completion of each sortie. *Grinstead, Frances "Air Mapping in Alaska with Loening Amphibians." U.S. Air Services, Vol. XIV, No. 12, December 1929, pp. 43-46.

Sarah Babbitt was a descendant of Esek Hopkins, commander in chief of the fleet of the Continental Navy, who led an assault on the British colony at Nassau in the Bahamas in March 1776. Ms. Babbitt was the ship's sponsor for USS HOPKINS (Destroyer No. 249) and is seen at the ship's christening and launch on June 26, 1920 at New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, NewJersey.

This is similar to a photo with Sarah Babbitt and her mother, dated June 26, 1920 by navsource.org: www.navsource.org/archives/05/pix2/0524911.jpg

The Philadelphia Inquirer, June 27, 1920, p. 9, col. 5 reported that she was a great granddaughter of Esek Hopkins fultonhistory.com/highlighter/highlight-for-xml?altUrl=ht...

Thanks for providing information about this event. We'll add some of it to the catalog record when we next update.

Launch of destroyer USS HOPKINS (Destroyer No. 249) on June 26, 1920 at New York Shipbuilding, Camden, New Jersey, across the Delaware River from Philadelphia. HOPKINS was commissioned on March 21, 1921. Converted to a destroyer minesweeper in 1940 (redesignated DMS 13), she decommissioned on Dec. 21, 1945 at Norfolk, Virginia and was sold for scrap in November 1946. A more detailed history is at www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/da...

That makes it this one. The image has 4 stacks. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Hopkins_(DD-249)

see also

Better link: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Hopkins_(DD-249) Assuming this photo is DD-249, it is a preliminary stage of construction, before the stacks were installed, and before most of the portions above deck were finished. see www.navsource.org/archives/05/pix1/0524906.jpg www.navsource.org/archives/05/249.htm

The date on the side is 30 Jun 1920, just four days after her launch. The pattern of portholes is consistent with the later photos of USS Hopkins, DD-249.